1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a portable, foldable pad which, when extended, will become a rigid plane and support a baby to change its diaper.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Attitudes toward traveling with children, especially infants, have changed in the last generation. A generation ago, if a family had a small child, baby or infant, various trips, including local trips to restaurants and shopping malls had to be planned very carefully. In many instances, one parent was assigned the task of staying home with the child and the second parent would make an excursion, such as shopping, themselves. This was true since it was quite likely that if the baby accompanied the parents on an excursion, the baby would have to be changed during the trip. This would have been very awkward since most establishments did not include a convenient location for the child or infant to be changed. This problem has been alleviated to some degree since many establishments now include a changing station provided in both the men's and women's restrooms. Although this is a great step forward, many parents are still unwilling to use such a changing station because of the possibility of unsanitary conditions associated with the changing station provided. Furthermore, although many establishments do include such a changing station, not all establishments have made this accommodation.
To alleviate this problem, several prior art patents are directed to a portable diaper changing device. These patents include U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,704, issued to Cutler; U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,509, issued to Vickers and U.S. Design Pat. No. D 367,771, issued to Julian.
The patent to Cutler describes a portable diaper changing board having a plurality of foldable sections including end members 12, 13 and intermediate members 14 and 15. Both the end members and intermediate members are hingedly fastened to adjacent members. Therefore, in use, the changing board may be transported in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3 and then opened for use as shown in FIG. 1. However, as shown in the drawings, it would appear that the end members and intermediate members are constructed from a soft material and would not provide adequate support for the infant unless used on a flat contiguous surface.
The patent to Vickers describes a convertible diaper bag/changing pad. When closed, the bag would allow various items to be transported and when open, it would serve to allow a parent or guardian to change the baby. However, similar to the patent to Cutler, it is conceivable that this patent would not provide adequate support for the child without a contiguous surface underneath.
The patent to Julian illustrates a portable diaper table. While this patent does appear to illustrate a diaper changing table having adequate strength to support the infant, this changing table is bulky and would be unwieldy to easily transport.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,292, issued to Underell, illustrates a foldable recliner/lounge pad constructed from four cushions interconnected together. As shown in the drawings, the cushion is transportable as shown in FIG. 1 and is unfolded as shown in FIG. 2 to provide support for an individual. However, this cushion was not designed to be used as a changing table and, due to its length, would not be able to be supported by various facilities generally included in the restroom, such as a sink.